1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a plastic, heavy duty bag provided with an easy opening pouring spout, and a method and apparatus for making a plastic, heavy duty bag having an easy opening pouring spout. The plastic, heavy duty bags of the present invention may be used as shipping bags for any small objects that lend themselves to pouring, such as salt pellets, dog food, fertilizer, yeast, sand, and lawn and garden products such as pine bark chips, and similar products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many products today are distributed in plastic, heavy duty, heat sealed shipping bags, containing approximately forty (40) pounds of a particular product. Examples of products which are distributed in such plastic, heavy duty bags are: salt pellets for water softening, dog food, fertilizer, yeast, sand and/or gravel, and lawn and garden products, such as pine bark nuggets, potting soil, dirt, and similar products. The bags in which these products are distributed typically are manufactured of extruded low density polyethylene plastic film, and the upper and lower ends of the bags are heat sealed, in a conventional manner, to provide a strong and durable closure at the top and bottom of the bags. Typically such bags, upon being filled with approximately forty (40) pounds of the material to be packaged, must withstand a drop test wherein a filled bag is dropped, from a vertical distance of approximately ten (10) to twenty (20) feet, upon a hard surface, without rupturing the plastic film of the bag, or rupturing the heat sealed closure at the upper and lower ends of the bag. Typically, the present plastic, heavy duty shipping bags are formed of low density polyethylene, having a thickness of approximately 4 to 8 mils.
A major disadvantage associated with prior plastic, heavy duty bags, is that they are difficult to open, which results from the heat sealed closure of the upper and lower ends of the bag. By its design, the heat sealed closure is inherently difficult to open, because of the strength and integrity of the heat sealed closure. Typically, it is quite difficult to open prior plastic, heavy duty bags without the aid of a knife or scissors, in that it is very difficult to pull open, or manually tear the heat sealed closure, so as to open the bag to be able to pour out the material contained within the bag. If the bag is manually torn open, the plastic film typically tears open in an uneven fashion, and it is difficult to just remove a portion of the upper end, for example, to form a pouring spout at the top of the bag.
Accordingly, prior to the development of the present invention, there has been no plastic, heavy duty, heat sealed bag, which: is simple and economical to manufacture and use; is provided with a easy opening pouring spout; and is easily opened without the use of a knife or scissors.
Therefore, the art has sought a plastic, heavy duty bag and method and apparatus for making a heavy duty bag having an easy opening pouring spout, which: are simple and economical to manufacture and use; provide an easy opening pouring spout in the bag; and does not require the use of a knife or scissors to provide an easy opening pouring spout in the bag.